Belatedly discovered the sad news in the November issue of DownBeat that Turk Mauro died on August 15.
It brought back wonderful memories of, back in 1980, hearing Turk blowing some of the best bari sax I'd ever heard at the Bull's Head in Barnes - or anywhere. With Tommy Whittle on tenor and the Tony Lee Trio behind them they blew up such a storm that, had it not been a musical one, they'd have battened down all the hatches.
For whatever reason, I never heard him play again but, that session alone was enough to mark him down as my baritone saxophone hero. This is not to lesson his tenor playing - Tommy Whittle knew he'd been in a fight - but it was his baritone playing that stayed with me to the extent that on the journey back to our hotel my travelling companion had to nudge me and say "Remember me?"
May he rest in peace, truly one of the all-time greats on his instrument.
Listen to him playing tenor, baritone and singing on this YouTube clip.*
Turk Mauro was 75.
Lance
* Listen to his bari blast on Happy Birthday towards the end (about 45mins in)
* Listen to his bari blast on Happy Birthday towards the end (about 45mins in)
Obituary.
2 comments :
Turk is my dad. Happy birthday was recorded for his grandson, my son Zach, born in 1991.
Saw Turk Mauro in NYC at the Half Note in 1973 (interval act for the Max Roach quintet) He was very good and I still have his LP the Underdog. Used to play a tune of his called Turquoise which was based on Tangerine chords. R.I.P
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